Steve Lomas suffered heartache in one of the most bizarre ends to a season ever during his days as a player at Manchester City.

Steve Lomas suffered heartache in one of the most bizarre ends to a season ever during his days as a player at Manchester City.

But he is determined to make up for it as a manager by leading St Johnstone to a European place today.

The Perth men will clinch a Europa League spot if they beat Rangers at home in their final SPL game and Hearts lose to champions Celtic at Parkhead

And Lomas hopes he won’t suffer more last-day pain after City were relegated in an incredible climax to the 1995/96 Premiership season.

With one relegation place to be decided, Alan Ball’s men went into the final round of fixtures trailing Southampton and Coventry on goal difference.

City hosted Liverpool at Maine Road and got off to the worst possible start when Lomas scored an own goal after just four minutes.

Ian Rush then doubled the lead but City fought back to level thanks to strikes from Uwe Rosler and Kit Symons.

Ball then told Lomas that Saints were losing against Wimbledon so the midfielder took the ball to the corner flag in a bid to run down the clock.

But the City gaffer had been given the wrong info and Niall Quinn – watching the scores on TV in the tunnel after being substituted – raced back out to break the news.

Lomas and Co didn’t have enough time to grab the goal that would have kept them up and it was one of the darkest days in the Northern Irishman’s career.

Technology has now moved on and it’s unlikely Lomas will receive the wrong information from Celtic Park today.

But the McDiarmid Park boss knows that result will count for nothing if his side fail to do their job against Gers.

He told MailSport: “It’s fair to say I don’t have good memories of last-day scenarios. The situation with City was just one of those things. Alan Ball, God rest his soul, told us a draw was enough to keep us up.

“If it wasn’t so serious there was great comic value in seeing big Niall running half-dressed down the touchline to say a draw WASN’T enough. It’s the quickest I had ever seen Niall run!

“He told us we needed to win so it was just crazy. Alan had received false information because he thought Southampton were losing and I was taking the ball into the corner flag to kill time.

“It was tough because just a week earlier I had scored the winner away to Aston Villa to keep us in the hunt.

“Relegation is hard enough anyway but under those circumstances it was so hard to take. I’d been at the club from the age of 12 so it was particularly hard on me.

“But that day has taught me you can only concentrate on yourselves so I won’t be distracted by events at Parkhead.

“However, I’ll have someone I trust who I can rely on for the correct score if I need it. With multimedia nowadays you don’t have to rely on a fan in the crowd.

“Getting a result will be tough in itself because, regardless of what people say, Rangers still have quality players.

“But it would be great if I could experience the other side of last-day drama and clinch a European place. It would be the perfect reward for the hard work of the lads.”

Saints have lost all of their post-split fixtures but their fine form earlier in the campaign means they are still in with a shout of Europe.

And if the Perth men miss out through the SPL they can still qualify if Hearts beat Hibs in next week’s Scottish Cup Final.

Lomas added: “The message to the players will be to give it one last go.

“The split hasn’t gone as we’d have liked but it would be a phenomenal achievement if we could sneak into that fifth spot.”

Lomas savoured plenty of memorable trips to Europe in his playing days and would love his Saints stars to experience big games on the Continent.

He said: “I played many times with Northern Ireland and it’s fantastic to go to different countries. The fans also love it. When I was at West Ham we won the Intertoto Cup and punters still talk about going to places like Metz for the final.

“We qualified for the UEFA Cup proper and went to Croatia and Romania. The supporters love an away trip where they can sample the culture.”

St Johnstone last graced Europe back in 1999/2000 and their fans witnessed a memorable 3-3 draw with Monaco in Perth after losing the first leg 3-0.

Lomas said: “Saints fans still talk about Monaco to this day and it would be great to get back into Europe. If we don’t manage it through the SPL there’s still a chance if Hearts win the Cup.

“But it wouldn’t be an agonising week leading up to the final because my concern is getting a squad together for next term.”